


The Rabble of Ravenclaw Chapter 2

by ianmw



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:42:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26087374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ianmw/pseuds/ianmw
Summary: After the fall of Voldemort, Hogwarts is under new administration. With new teachers, new classes, and new students, follow the journey of Ravenclaws, second-year Charles, Lea, and first-year Heely as they join Professor Gilly for an adventure. Discover a new way of thinking about magic, and the wizarding world as a fiendish mystery unfolds
Kudos: 1
Collections: Harry Potter





	The Rabble of Ravenclaw Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Hufflepuffs, Gargoyles, and Unforgivable Curses

“You look excited,” Heely says, watching Lea tap her foot. “You're wiggling about like a blast-ended skrewt.”  
“Sorry,” Lea says, pushing her hair back. “I've been excited for this class.”  
“To think they had to find a replacement so soon after the start of the year,” Heely remarks. “I never see you happier than when you're talking about plants.”  
Lea shrugs. “What can I say?”  
“That you like them better than humans. It would be the truth.”  
“Nuh-uh!”  
The rest of the students gather in the hall, staring at the door. Then it swings open with a flash. Lea is the first one in. She saves a seat for Heely, who's much less enthusiastic.  
A mermaid is sitting in a wheelchair at the front of the class. A bubble charm is wrapped around her head, partially obscuring rather ugly features. Her tail is curled over the leg rest of her chair. The wheels are coated in cups like octopus tentacles. “Welcome, class!” Her voice is a bit muffled by the charm. “This is a great pleasure, although I am sorry to hear about Ms. Wanda. The Greenshade plant is, of course, fatal.”  
A flower hovers over each desk. Heely jabs a finger at hers. “How come Charles doesn't take herbology?” she whispers. “Seems inconsiderate.”  
“Why should my interests dictate his schedule?” Lea shoots back.  
“Sorr-ee, jeez.”  
The mermaid writes her name on the blackboard, saying, “I am Professor Gordy Gilett. I specialize in plant-life of the deep. I owe Headmaster Wittenshire a great debt for working me into the schedule. What you see before you is a flower called the stella genus. Usually, I am not so fond of flowers. However, this is flower, commonly called the Star Flower, is quite beautiful.”  
Heely raises her hand. “Professor, I'm not trying to be rude, but this may be the ugliest flower I've ever seen.”  
Gilett chuckles. “Give it a chance, dear.” She rolls her chair to the side, then right up the wall as if it were a floor. She opens a cupboard, taking out her wand. “I always wanted one of my own,” she says, as the children gawk at her. She rolls back down. Her own flower hovers over her desk. “Atela,” she says, twirling her wand in circles over the flower.  
Before their very eyes, the flower shrinks into a striking pinprick of light. Then it sails up to the ceiling, shooting through it as if it weren't there.  
A collective gasp from the class.  
“A star,” Gilett says. “It will find its way into the infinite cosmos. Now, wands out. Atela! One, two, three.”  
The flowers snap into stars, all in a mass, and shoot skyward. Half the class claps, while the others gaze in wonder.  
“Amazing,” Lea sighs.  
“I wanted to start the class with the beauty of herbology,” Gilett says. “Now I would like you to turn to page 70 in your book, The Witch's Guide to All Things Green.”  
After class, Heely struggles to keep up with Lea.  
Then Lea bumps into a Hufflepuff with a sharp buzz cut.  
“Hey, watch it,” Heely says.  
“Lea, right?” the boy asks.  
Lea nods.  
“You know him?” Heely asks.  
“Lea, I've been wanting to talk to you. Do you mind?” The Hufflepuff takes her by the arm, leading her out of the classroom.  
“I don't remember putting on an effing invisibility cloak,” Heely mutters to herself.

***

“They taught you about a toaster?” Heely asks, walking the grounds with Charles.  
“Yeah. I wouldn't call it a 'muggle artifact' myself. Personally, I prefer plain bread.”  
“Thickhead.”  
He pushes her. “Anyway, Professor Gilly's toaster spell got me thinking. So I researched storage spells.”  
She gasps. “You read a book? On purpose?”  
“Shut up. I found out about a spell where you can hide things in thin air. Discovered by a Hufflepuff, of course.”  
“What do you mean, 'of course?'”  
“They're known as puffers for a reason,” he says. “They smuggle all kinds of 'candy' into their dorms. Naturally, the storage spell is quite useful.”  
“Oh. Funny you should mention Hufflepuffs,” Heely says. “After Herbology yesterday, one of them pulled Lea aside. I still don't know what they talked about.”  
“What did he look like?”  
“Like a potato with a buzz cut. He's a fifth-year probably.”  
“That's Silus. He's a puffer if there ever was one. I hear he shows up to most classes in a daze. My mum says you're not supposed to eat Sleepy Beans.”  
“Lea can handle herself, though, right?”  
“I wouldn't say that, exactly.”  
They join the other students on the flying field. Everlasting paint marks a grid in the grass.  
“Today we start actually flying,” Heely says. “I've never done that before.”  
“Don't worry. At first, I sucked at riding my broom. But I worked on it every day last year. I got really good at it. I'll help you.”  
The professor, Marco Partazi, is brandishing his Silver Arrow broomstick. “Gather around! Today is an exciting day for all of you first-years. Once kicking off the ground, as we have practiced, you will all follow me in a line through the skies as best you can. Now, no passing me! Some of you think yourselves clever.”   
He eyes Charles, who shrugs.  
“Now, back in my Quidditch champion days,” Partazi goes on, “I had a Thunderbolt. It was beautiful. It would practically sing as it whisked me to victory.” He clears his throat. “Er-Anyway. I had to sell it, so the Silver Arrow is all I've got. Positions, everyone!”  
Each student steps into a grid, making four lines.  
Partazi lifts off, hovering over them. Then he sends a spark into the air, and everyone kicks off the ground.  
Heely screams as she shoots high into the air.  
“Hold your broom tight!” Charles yells, hovering beside her.  
“How do I turn?” she screams.  
“Lean your whole body left!”  
She leans too much, rotating the whole broom. She flies upside down, shrieking.  
Partazi flings a spell at her, putting her upright.  
She flies slowly now, gently.  
“Good,” Charles says.  
Fifty brooms arc through the air, following the professor past the wall of gargoyles. A few students pass him.  
He sends another spark in the air, and everyone settles down in the grass. Heely nearly falls flat on her face. “Back to your positions, class!”  
They fall in line.  
As Partazi prattles on, Charles flickers his wand, muttering, “Possideus Revelo.”  
A symphony of screams follows, as everyone in the class is suddenly headless. All at once, their heads disappear, all except the teacher's, Heely's, and Charles'.  
The students all try to run away from each other, terrified, a bunch of headless bafoons tripping about.  
Heely works her way over to Charles, shouting over the noise, “I won't even ask!”  
“Headless Hats,” Charles explains. “I stored them in thin air over the grid.”  
“I said I didn't ask!”

***

Charles settles into his chair with a book, as Heely taps her mic.  
“Is Lea gonna show up?” Heely asks.  
Charles shrugs.  
Sighing, she flips the switch. “Well, hello, avid listeners. I'm Heely, and a lot has happened this week. Dark things are stirring outside Hogwarts, if you ask me. It's not safe for man or beast out there. Or woman.”  
Charles rolls his eyes and turns the page.  
Heely squints at her newspaper. “Befrida Sagger was killed on Monday. No medical explanation. My parents sent me this muggle newspaper. By the way, they're chiropractors, which means they fix people's spines. Not that confusing. Harold Herring, seems to have died of shock. Charles, can you tell me what's special about these two?”  
He sets down his book, and the mic levitates over to him. “Well, Heely, Befrida and Harold both died on the same day, at the same time, in the same place. Befrida could have been murdered by a muggle, yes, but would that have caused Harold to die from shock?”  
“It does seem unlikely,” Heely says. “A likelier explanation is that a witch or wizard killed Ms. Sagger, and the sight of such violent magic killed Mr. Herring. This is more evidence of a magic user murdering muggles. Charles, you had an important question.”  
“Right. The way I see it, there's no way one person could do these killings. I think it must be a whole bunch of people. If it's one witch or wizard, as you say, why are the killings so spread out?”  
“Indeed,” Heely says, “a good question. My readers will recall that there were murders throughout Europe, all suspect. Why would one person travel such great distances to find his victims? Unless he or she is being very selective. What if there's a reason for each murder?”

***

The general common room is just outside the library. A muffling charm separates the two rooms. One first-year keeps stepping in and out of the doorway.  
Charles and Heely are playing cards at one of the smaller tables.  
A man and woman pass through, wearing plastic gloves. “I'm just saying, those stupid elves screwed us over,” the man says.  
“I'm just happy for the job.”  
They pass out of sight.  
Heely looks up from her cards, across the room at Silus. He has his feet propped up on a stack of books, and five students have their chairs turned to face him. One whispers something into his ear, and he chuckles.  
Heely looks back down.  
“Are you obsessed with him or something?” Charles asks.  
“Ha ha,” she says. “I'm worried about Lea.”  
“She's probably just hiding in her room. You know she's shy.”  
“She wasn't there when I checked.”  
Then one of Silus' friends shouts, “You can't say things like that, Silus!”  
The room falls quiet. Everyone is staring.  
The brown-haired boy, a second-year by the looks of it, sits back down, face burning.  
Silus is glaring at him like he's a piece of meat to be chewed up. “Get up,” he says.  
The boy obeys.  
Silus keeps eye contact. “Take off your pants,” he says.  
The friends surrounding him say nothing. A few shake their heads.  
“Silus...” the boy says. He trails off.  
“Pants off,” Silus says. “I'll keep it from you.”  
Slowly, the boy pulls down his pants, revealing heart-spotted boxers. Almost everyone in the room laughs, Silus the loudest of all.  
“What the hell was that about?” Heely whispers.  
Charles shrugs. “He didn't even threaten him.”  
The boy pulls up his pants and sits back down beside Silus.  
“Hufflepuffs,” Charles says.  
“I think he's using a controlling charm,” Heely says.  
“That's illegal. Wouldn't someone have noticed? A teacher?”  
“Maybe, maybe not. Without the trace, it's hard to tell. Either way, I think Lea might be in trouble.”

***

The Rabble meets in the trophy room. Charles sees a few new faces. “No sign of Lea.”  
Heely nods.  
Professor Gilly examines the Quidditch shelf. “Gryffindor, Slytherin,” he says. “Only two Ravenclaws. Two!” He turns, his jacket of many pockets swishing. “Forgive me if I'm irritable today.” He sips from a vial. “Liquid Luck,” he explains. “I have something important coming up. Which leads me to today's lesson.” He sits, making eye contact with each student. “Tracking, one of the most useful spells in the wizarding world. I was going to teach you about it in Defense Against Dark Creatures. Tracking is a delicate art. Heely or Charles will tell you about the various methods muggles use to find people. Bloodhounds, great dogs that can follow a scent. Even objects called metal detectors can find certain substances. Before that, muggles would follow footsteps. This is known as the old fashioned way. We witches and wizards have our own methods to choose from. For instance, recently a student used the pictures in the stairwell to find someone. Quite clever. Today, I will focus on Shutters. Not the sort you find on windows. I mean the very rare kind, only found on choice Ministry officials. To best demonstrate this method, we must go to the Great Hall.”  
The Rabble follow him through the castle. They pass a few confused students. Down the passage to the Great Hall, stone gargoyles with creepy faces stare at them, unmoving.  
“I assure you it is quite empty,” Gilly says. He opens the tall doors with a flick of his wand. “This will be rather fun.” He hops up on one of the tables, knocking a spoon to the floor. He holds his wrist up, revealing an odd watch. “What you see before your very eyes, around my wrist, is a Shutter. One need only twist the base like so...”  
Suddenly, a host of figures appear. They're glowing, so Charles thinks their ghosts at first...Until he recognizes some of his friends.  
Trails of light follow the misty figures as they finish up their meals.  
“What you see before you is a reflection of what happened twenty four hours ago,” Gilly says. He twists the Shutter, and the images speed by. He stops, and now a Slytherin boy hangs from a chandelier. A Ravenclaw is below, wand bobbing up and down.  
The students laugh.  
“Moderately funny,” Gilly says. He twists the Shutter until a reflection of the Rabble is walking through the doors, just as they did minutes ago. “Yes, that is what each of you really looks like.”  
“I had hoped I was taller,” Charles murmurs.  
“As you have no doubt put together, Shutters can replay time before your very eyes. There is a limit, of course, and there are spells one can cast to erase their tracks. However, it is invaluable when it comes to finding people who are lost...and people who do not wish to be found.” He jumps down from the table. “Follow me.”  
The students step out into the hallway.  
“I love this hall,” Gilly says. “Do you know why? The gargoyles. Which brings us to our second lesson of the night.”  
Charles touches one of the gargoyles, rubbing its gnarly back. It has the horns of a ram and a ghoulish face.  
“When I was in school,” Gilly says, “I always wondered why the paintings move, and the stairs move, but the gargoyles don't. What I learned as I grew up is that there is indeed a great power within these gargoyles, but it sleeps. I will teach you the spell to bring them to life.”  
Many whispers wash over the group.  
“Piertotum Locomotor!” Gilly says, arms raised.  
Every gargoyle in the hall starts to budge. Their stone eyes blink, and their hard chests rise and fall as if breathing. The one with the ram horns scratches an itch on its back.  
“Oh, hello, Fron,” one gargoyle says.  
Gilly gives a low bow. “I trust you had a good summer?”  
“On the contrary, a family of spiders made me their home. I thought they'd never leave.”  
Gilly waves his wand again, and the gargoyles return to normal. “Who wants to try first?”

***

Charles sits next to Heely in Spells of Defense class. “Okay, now I'm really worried,” he says.  
“Worried!” a voice says. It's Professor Calzone, the moving painting at the head of the class. He has a vest, striped trousers, and a ridiculous neck ruffle. A dragon is curled around his legs, up to his knee. “What worries you, my boy?”  
“Um, thank you, professor, I'm good,” Charles says awkwardly. Then, in a softer whisper, he says to Heely, “Did you see Lea yet this morning?”  
“Oh, it's Lea you're worried about?” Calzone booms.  
“Professor, how well can you hear exactly?” Charles demands.  
“Well, there she is.” The man in the painting points, though it's not very clear where he's pointing to.  
Charles turns, and sure enough, Lea walks in. “Over here!”  
“Lea!” Heely calls.  
Lea doesn't even look at them, instead sitting in the back of the class. The rest of the students file in.  
“I don't know whether to be more angry or worried,” Charles says.  
“Tell me about it,” Heely says.  
“I quite agree.”  
“Shut up, Professor.”  
The last student takes her seat, and class starts.  
“Today,” Calzone says, pacing back and forth in the small space of his frame, “we will be learning about the disarming spell. It is a spell you cast in another wizard's direction, but it's still defensive. The object is to leave your attacker unable to hurt you. Does anyone, by chance, know the spell?”  
“Expelliarmus,” the class drones in unison.  
“We've heard it a hundred times, Professor,” one kid says.  
“All right, all right,” Calzone huffs. “No need to get your knickers in a twist.”  
“What the f are knickers?” Charles whispers.  
“We will practice disarming in pairs.”  
All at once, the students rush to pair up. Charles pushes his way to Lea...only to see that she already has a partner. A Hufflepuff.  
Heely pulls him away. “Come on, be my partner.”  
“Good, good,” Calzone says. “Wands at the ready. Yes, a question?”  
A boy asks, “Did you learn this spell when you were a monster hunter?”  
“I WAS NOT A MONSTER HUNTER!” Calzone roars. “Would you quit asking that? How many times must I tell you? I am not Calzone the Great. I am a painting of Calzone the Great. There's a difference.”  
A few students chuckle.  
“Then why do you have a pet dragon?”  
“Who asked that?” Calzone snaps.  
The others laugh, but Charles and Heely don't join in. They keep looking back at Lea.

***

Charles stands at the door to his common room. “Come on, what's the riddle?”  
“Patience, patience,” the door says.  
“I'm kind of in a hurry.”  
“All right, here it is. What is something few have, and many covet--”  
“Is the answer patience?”  
“Perhaps.”  
“Thought so.” Charles rolls his eyes.  
The door unlocks, and he walks in to find none other than Lea...and Silus.  
“What the hell are you doing here?” Charles asks.  
“Lea let me in,” Silus says.  
Lea stares at the floor, muttering, “Well, you let Jayln in all the time.” She pulls up her hood.  
“Oh, don't wear that up,” Silus sneers. “You look depressed. I can't have my friends looking depressed.”  
She takes the hood off.  
Charles stomps over to the girls' dorm. The door is ajar, so he pushes it open. “Heely?”  
She climbs out of bed. “What?”  
“We have a problem.” He pulls her out into the hall.  
“What is he doing here?” she whispers. “Is that Lea?”  
Just then, Hope flutters down onto the table. Lea lays down a few seeds.  
“Is that your dove?” Silus asks. “It's brilliant.”  
“Thanks,” Lea says.  
“I mean, it's brilliant for a spell I've been wanting to try out.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“A torture spell. Not the cruciartus curse, mind you, but I've heard it's effective. You wouldn't mind, would you?”  
“N-Not at all,” she says.  
Charles watches in horror as Silus whips out his wand. Soon, Hope starts contorting in pain, letting out shrill shrieks. Lea only averts her eyes.  
“Stop it!” Heely yells.  
Silus lowers his wand, and Hope flies to Charles. Charles sets the dove gently in his pocket. Silus sneers at them both, full of himself.  
“You're controlling her, aren't you?” Heely asks.  
“What, you mean like the imperius curse?” Silus balks.  
“You seem to know a lot about the unforgivable curses.” Heely has her wand out.  
Charles feels something brush against his leg. He looks down and sees Elton. The wolf stands between Heely and Silus.  
“Liberto!” Heely says, pointing to Lea.  
There's a pause, filled with Elton's snarls.  
“Lea, let's go somewhere else,” Silus says. “I'm sure the headmaster would love to know this wench smuggled a wolf in.” He stands, and Lea follows him to the door.  
“Lea, don't go with him!” Charles pleads.  
Lea doesn't even make eye contact. She just follows Silus out the door.  
“Was he controlling her?” Charles asks.  
Heely shakes her head. “If he was, liberto would have released her. He's not using any spells.”

***

“I wish I could steal that effing Shutter and go back to before Lea was a backstabbing traitor,” Charles huffs.  
“I've never been more furious in all my life,” Heely says. She's stalking around the room like a fierce gremlin. “Is this what happened between you and Jayln?”  
“What? No. We fight sometimes, but we're still friends.”  
“I don't know if I can forgive her for this. She ignores us for days, and spends all her time with Hufflepuffs! Torturing innocent birds, of her own volition!”  
“Let's just get to the Rabble.”  
“Hopefully you-know-who isn't there.”  
“No need to call her that.”  
“It was a little extreme, you're right.” She leads Elton back to her bed, petting him.  
They make their way to the trophy room, but to their surprise, it's nearly empty.  
“Did we miss it?” Charles asks.  
One fifth-year looks up and says, “No, he's gone.”  
“Who, Professor Gilly?”  
“Who do you think? He used to do this all the time last year. I thought this year would be different.”  
Charles and Heely share a look. “Are you thinking what I'm thinking?” Charles asks.

***

“Alohomora,” Charles whispers.  
Heely, the lookout, hisses at him, “Do you understand what we're doing? How will we even get out of the castle?”  
“I've done it loads of times,” he says, opening Gilly's bedroom door. “By which I mean once. And I was caught immediately.”  
“No charms,” Heely says. “I thought he would have a few more defenses than a simple lock.”  
“Don't jinx us. Besides, I have a hunch.”  
“Shouldn't you clue me in?”  
“Where's the fun in that? Accio Shutter.” A drawer bursts open, and the watch flies to his hand. “YES! I effing knew it!” He wraps the Shutter around his wrist, tightening the band. “Now we need to get to our brooms.” He closes the door, then stares at it. “Do you know the locking spell?”  
“Colloportus,” she says, wand out.  
They run to the field outside, as a bell tolls.  
Heely tugs his arm, stopping him. “Do you know what that means? We just missed our first class.”  
“You have a choice then, I guess.”  
“It's not a choice, I'm just saying.” As they run, she says, “I have an idea for how to steal the brooms. I know a spell to brew up a storm.”  
“Do you know every spell?”  
“Almost. I'm just not great--”  
“Not great at casting them, yeah.”  
“Metelojinx,” she tells him. “And you have to think of something dark and moody.”  
He repeats the spell, and a small cloud starts squirting water. Luckily, it gains the attention of the Quidditch team. They dash to the broom shed.  
“What thought did you use?”  
“Silus torturing Lea's dove,” Charles says. “We shouldn't invite her, should we?”  
“Hell no. She'd probably rat us out.”  
“Yeah, you're right. Come on, let's go!” He hands her a broom.  
“I hate this one,” she says, throwing it back and taking another.  
He rolls his eyes. “Whatever. Let's go!”  
They soar, the wind ripping at them. They try to shout at each other, but to no avail. “Just watch!” Charles yells. “Caecia maxima!”  
They both turn transparent as they fly. Heely nearly has a freak out, but she manages to stay calm.  
Charles takes a black rock from his pocket. “For a distraction!” The scores of wind tear it from his hand, and it explodes behind them, forming a black cloud.  
Heely gives a weak thumbs up as they fly.  
Charles almost falls off his broom as he twists the base of the Shutter on his wrist. Down below, a few glowing animals race by. He keeps twisting it until a human figure shows up. “Follow me!”  
“I know!”  
He keeps the Shutter on, watching the small glowing dot move in a more or less straight line, until he himself mounts a broom. “Hold on tight!” He follows Professor Gilly's ghost in a loop-de-loop.  
Heely doesn't bother, staying straight.  
They fly for hours. Every once in a while, Charles adjusts the Shutter. Hills and trees go by.  
“What is that?” Heely yells, pointing to a city in the distance.  
“Coppertown!” Charles answers. “I think!”  
Then another voice, entirely separate, yells, “Get them!”  
Another yells, “Go for the Shutter!”  
Charles curses. Over his shoulder, he sees two women on brooms.  
Heely shouts a spell, but she misses completely. They gain on her, and she starts screaming.  
“Expecto Patronum!” Charles yells. His little turtle of blue mist streaks through the sky. It curves, hitting one of the women smack in the face. It evaporates into tendrils.  
They keep flying.  
“Charles!” Heely shouts. “Use Levicorpus!”  
Charles repeats the spell, but it misses.  
One of the chasers yells, “Accio Shutter!”  
Charles screams as his wrist flies back, ripping him from his broom. He sails toward the pursuers, holding onto the watch for dear life.  
Heely turns around, flying toward him with all speed.  
One of the women shoots a spell, creating a wall of bricks in midair. Heely leans so far to the side that she turns over, just barely dodging the bricks. She pulls herself upright with a grunt, grabbing Charles' leg. She whispers a charm, and the pull on Charles' wrist stops. As a result, he drops.  
Her broom keeps them both afloat, but just barely.  
“We should land!” she says.  
“No! Get to Coppertown!”  
The city fast approaches. A stunning jinx hits Charles, and he goes limp.  
“Come on!” Heely yells. She brings the broom down farther and farther until they land just within the city limits, on a dirt road.  
Charles moans, flopping about.  
She picks him up, helping him walk.  
“Cathedral,” he mutters.  
She looks around, saying, “What the hell is a cathedral?”  
“The church!”  
She sees it, and they walk there together. Charles' stunning spell wears off.  
The two pursuers land right behind them.  
“How did you find us?” Heely demands.  
“We know the work of a Shutter when we see one!” the first woman yells. “Give it over!”  
“Never!”  
“Accio Shutter!” the woman cries.  
Charles feels the pull on his arm again. He frantically turns to the church, resisting the pull with all his might. He uses his other hand to point his wand at one of the gargoyles hanging from the cathedral. “Piertotum Locomotor!” he yells.  
Three gargoyles in the shape of angels suddenly come to life. They fly straight toward the attackers. The women hop onto their brooms and fly away as fast as they can.  
Charles drops, holding his wrist to his chest until her spell fades.  
“WOO!” Heely says, jumping up and down. “Take that, bisnatches!” She wraps Charles in a hug, saying, “You're a genius!”  
“All right, all right. What else is new?” He stands, activating the Shutter. “What are we gonna do now? We only have one broom.”  
“Take it.”  
“I'm not leaving you here.”  
“Yeah, no shit. I just mean fly up high and use the Shutter, look for any sign of Professor Gilly.”  
Charles takes the broom in hand. Up in the sky, he activates the Shutter and looks around. Sure enough, he sees an image of Gilly running through the forest. He speeds forward to when he and Heely landed minutes ago.  
Back on earth, he beckons for Heely to follow him.  
They race through the woods, on foot just like Gilly. Eventually, they reach a great big tree. The image of Gilly swerves around it, out of sight. Charles takes a step forward, but Heely catches his arm. “Look there.”  
To their right, under a canopy of leaves, is a burnt-out campfire. As they move closer to it, neither one sees the image of Gilly round the tree and point a wand at the camp.  
“There's a chair,” Heely says. “And look, food.” She takes a biscuit from the shelf.  
“Are you really that hungry?” Charles sighs.  
“I'm a growing girl!”  
Then a figure rushes right at them, and Heely screams, dropping her biscuit. But it's just a glowing reflection from the Shutter. A man with odd clothes and...a skull mask.  
“Is that an effing Death Eater?” Heely asks.  
“I think so,” Charles says. “What the hell?” He turns the Shutter forward. Reflections of him and Heely waft by. Heely's reflection picks up the biscuit. Then there's a glow from behind one of the trees. “What the--?”  
The man with the mask jumps out from behind a tree, in the flesh. Time seems to slow as he lifts his wand to attack. Charles' instinct is to jump in front of Heely, but before he can, something happens. Something terrible.  
“AVADA KEDAVRA!” a voice yells.  
A cold blue spell rockets into the Death Eater from behind. He falls dead, his mask cracking against the campfire stones.  
Charles can't believe it. His stomach churns as he stares at the first corpse he's ever seen. “Oh, God!”  
“Professor?” Heely asks.  
No. It can't be. Charles looks up to see Professor Gilly emerge from his hiding spot, wand raised. Charles can't believe it. Gilly, a murderer!  
“Are you two all right?” Gilly asks.


End file.
